The Joey Bishop Show
The Joey Bishop Show was a sitcom series starring entertainer Joey Bishop, created by Danny Thomas & Louis F. Edelman (which is a spin-off of Danny Thomas' series "The Danny Thomas Show"). The show first aired on Syndication for three seasons lasting from September 20, 1961 to May 30, 1964. After NBC cancelled it due to low ratings, it was picked up by CBS for its fourth and final season. Plot The show centered on Joey Barnes, the host of a television talk show in New York as he dealt with events occurring in his professional & personal life. Cast *Joey Bishop as Joey Barnes *Abby Dalton as Ellie Barnes (1962–1965) *Madge Blake as Mrs. Barnes (1961–1962) *Warren Berlinger as Larry Barnes (1961–1962) *Joe Flynn as Frank (1961–1962) *John Griggs as J.P. Willoughby (1961) *Nancy Hadley as Barbara Simpson (1961–1962) *Virginia Vincent as Betty (1961–1962) *Marlo Thomas as Stella Barnes (1961–1962) *Joe Besser as Mr. Jillson (1962–1965) *Bill Bixby as Charles Raymond (1962) *Guy Marks as Freddie (1962) *Corbett Monica as Larry Corbett (1963–1965) *Mary Treen as Hilda (1962–1965) *Joey Forman as Dr. Sam Nolan (1964–1965) Production The series was conceived as a vehicle for entertainer Joey Bishop by Danny Thomas & Louis F. Edelman in 1960. At the time, Thomas was starring in his own series, "Make Room for Daddy" (later known as The Danny Thomas Show), airing on CBS. Thomas' series was then a top-20 hit and served as a launching pad for The Joey Bishop Show. The series' pilot episode, entitled "Everything Happens to Me" aired on March 27, 1961, during the eighth season of "The Danny Thomas Show." In the pilot episode, an incompetent Hollywood "public relations man" named Joey Mason (Bishop) forgets to make proper accommodations for an exhausted Danny Williams (Thomas) after he arrives in Los Angeles to play a show. Joey is then forced to put Danny up in the home he shares with his colorful parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mason (played by Billy Gilbert and Madge Blake) and his two unmarried sisters, Betty (Virginia Vincent) & aspiring actress Stella (Marlo Thomas). By the time the series was picked up by NBC, Bishop's character's name was changed to Joey Barnes (Bishop had insisted his character and he share the same initials) and the character of Joey's father was dropped. Two additional characters were added to the show; a younger brother named Larry, and Frank, the husband of Joey's older sister Betty. The series' first incarnation features Joey, a well-intending but hapless and trouble-prone young man, who works for the Hollywood public relations firm, Willoughby, Cleary and Jones. The firm is headed by J.P. Willoughby (John Griggs), Joey's demanding boss. Willoughby's secretary, Barbara Simpson (Nancy Hadley), is Joey's girlfriend. Joey lives with and supports his widowed mother, Mrs. Barnes (Madge Blake), younger sister Stella (Marlo Thomas) and younger brother Larry (Warren Berlinger), who is a medical student. Joey also supports his older sister Betty (Virginia Vincent) and her proudly unemployed husband Frank (Joe Flynn). The storylines during the first season typically revolve around Joey's misadventures concerning his job. Problems also arise when family members, who often think he has more influence in Hollywood than he actually has, attempt to take advantage of his nonexistent influence. As the series was a spin-off of "The Danny Thomas Show", Danny Thomas and Marjorie Lord appeared as their "Danny Thomas" characters in the first season's fourth episode entitled "This Is Your Life." Sid Melton, (who appeared as Uncle Charley Halper on "The Danny Thomas Show") also appeared. Upon its September 1961 premiere, "The Joey Bishop Show" struggled in the ratings. In an effort to improve viewership, NBC decided to "readjust" the series. Several characters (including Joey's older sister Betty, brother-in-law Frank, and girlfriend Barbara Simpson) were dropped and several crew members were also dismissed. The changes helped the series' ratings and NBC renewed it for a second season. After the show's first season, Bishop decided to fully change the format of the series. In addition to the format changing, "The Joey Bishop Show" began filming in front of a live audience and also featured an entirely different supporting cast. In the show's second incarnation, Joey Barnes is the host of a New York City talk/variety television show. Abby Dalton joined the cast as Joey's new wife Ellie (whom Joey called "Texas" because she hailed from Texas) and the two live at the Carlton Arms, a posh Manhattan apartment building. Towards the end of season two, Ellie discovers that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Their son, Joey Barnes, Jr. (played by Dalton's real son Matthew David Smith), was born in the season-two finale "The Baby Cometh". Also joining the cast was Guy Marks, who portrayed Freddie, Joey's manager. Marks left the series after 19 episodes and Corbett Monica joined the cast as Larry Corbett, Joey's head writer. The supporting cast also includes Mary Treen as Hilda, the Barnes' maid and baby nurse, with whom Joey frequently trades insults. Joe Besser portrayed Mr. Jillson, the building's henpecked super who lives in fear of his wife, Tantalia (who is never seen, but often heard). Upon its debut on NBC in 1961, The Joey Bishop Show was telecast in black-and-white. One Season 1 episode, "A Windfall For Mom", was shot and broadcast in color. During the show's second and third seasons, it switched to color and after it moved to CBS for the 1964–65 season, it reverted to black-and-white. Lost Episode One episode from the third season of "The Joey Bishop Show" is now considered lost. The episode (known as #85) was filmed on November 15, 1963 and guest starred comedian and impressionist Vaughn Meader. In the early 1960s, Meader rose to fame for his comedic impersonation of then-President John F. Kennedy featured on the popular comedy album "The First Family". The episode centered around Meader performing his Kennedy impersonation in routines opposite Joey Bishop. A week after filming, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. President Kennedy's death promptly ended Meader's career; his club bookings and television appearances were quickly canceled and his albums were pulled from stores. The episode featuring Meader was scheduled to air in February 1964, but was pulled by NBC, never aired and was reportedly destroyed. Reception Upon its premiere, "The Joey Bishop Show" struggled in the ratings. After the first re-tooling, the ratings for the series improved and NBC renewed the show for a second season. The series' second revamped season proved to be popular with audiences and ratings increased. By the end of the third season, the show had dropped in the ratings again and NBC announced it would be dropped from its lineup in January 1964 (the series' third-season finale episode aired in May 1964). Also around this time, Danny Thomas decided to end his series after 11 years despite its still high ratings. To compensate for Thomas' absence, CBS immediately picked up "The Joey Bishop Show" for the 1964–65 television season. The fourth season premiere "Joey Goes to CBS" premiered on Sunday night September 27, 1964 at 9:30 P.M. (opposite NBC's highly popular western series "Bonanza"). As a result, ratings for "The Joey Bishop Show" were low and late fall 1964, ratings had not improved. In an effort to save the series, CBS moved it to Tuesday nights, but the ratings still remained low and CBS announced the series’ cancellation in January 1965. The series finale aired on March 30, 1965. Category:1960s television series Category:1961 Category:1962 Category:1963 Category:1964 Category:Syndication